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  • ONE OF THE GREATEST COLLECTIONS OF OLD MASTERS AT SOTHEBY’S

    March 27th, 2025

    Luis Meléndez – Still Life with a Cauliflower, a Basket with Eggs, Leeks, and Fish, and Assorted Kitchen Utensils

    One of the greatest collection of Old Masters to come to auction in living memory will be offered by Sotheby’s in New York on May 21 with an estimate of $80-$120 million. Comprising fifty-six works, many of which have been exhibited at leading institutions around the world, the collection of Jordan and Thomas A Saunders III features leading artists from the 16th to the 19th century. At its heart is a remarkable group of still-lifes by Dutch and Flemish masters of the 17th century, alongside exceptional portraits and landscapes. Among the highlights are landscapes by Francesco Guardi and Frans Hals and still lifes by Luis Meléndez, Adriaen Coorte and Jan Davidsz de Heem and portraits by Sir Thomas Lawrence and Frans Hals. The c1826 Lawrence portrait is of Julia Peel, eldest child of British Prime Minister Robert Peel. The collection will be sold on May 21 and a further selection of works will highlight the Masters paintings sale on May 22.

    Sir Thomas Lawrence – Portrait of Miss Julia Peel

    CONVENT CONTENTS AT AIDAN FOLEY’S ONLINE AUCTION

    March 26th, 2025

    Longcase clock by Egans of Cork UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,750 AT HAMMER

    Selected contents from the Convent of Mercy in Charleville and contents from a period home in Cork city will feature at Aidan Foley’s two day sale on March 31 and April 1. Highlights include longcase clocks by Egans of Cork and S D O’Neill Ltd. of Belfast, a 19th century hunt table and art by Markey Robinson, Michael Hales, John Morris and Mark O’Neill. Collectibles include Persian rugs, Waterford crystal,  porcelain and garden furniture. An antique violin by Josef Thier of Innsbruck in good original condition will be sold on behalf of The Hope Foundation. The online only auction will be on view in Doneraile from March 28. UPDATE: THE JOSEF THIER VIOLIN MADE 1,420 AT HAMMER AND THE BELFAST LONGCASE CLOCK MADE 2,000 AT HAMMER.

    ONE OF PAUL HENRY’S BEST PAINTINGS AT AUCTION

    March 24th, 2025

    Connemara Hills, the catalogue cover lot for Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International art auction on April 8, is described by Peter Murray in the catalogue note as one of Paul Henry’s best paintings.  The former Crawford Gallery curator highlights how in this work – unusually for an artist who often depicted a low horizon and towering clouds – the mountains tower over the cottages almost shutting out the sky. Small in scale and depicting a little village in North Connemara it conveys accurately the awe inspiring landscapes of the region. Henry studied in Paris with Whistler and Mucha and influences from both can be found in the painting. A similar scene was used by Henry in 1925 to illustrate a poster for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.  The oil on canvas is estimated at €120,000-€160,000.  The auction will be on view in Skibbereen from next March 28-31 and at the RDS in Dublin from April 4-7. The catalogue is online.

    UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    LOUIS XV IN CORK, IRISH GEORGIAN IN CAVAN

    March 23rd, 2025

     Louis XV ormolu mounted desk at Woodwards. UPDATE: THIS MADE 650 AT HAMMER

    A Louis XV ormolu mounted desk (€1,000-€2,000), a Sheraton inlaid bowfront sideboard (€600-€800), an Edwardian roll top desk (€750-€1,000), a small Irish Regency bookcase (€400-€500) and a pair of Edwardian demi-lune side tables €750-€1,000) give some  indication of the value to be had at Woodwards online auction in Cork on March 29.  Some or all of these pieces will be picked up for less than the low estimate.  Antique furniture continues to represent very good value. More than 300 lots will come under the hammer.

    The decorative interior sale at Victor Mee on March 26 and 27 can be viewed online too.  More than 950 lots, headed by an antique Irish Georgian marble fireplace from the Castle Saunderson Estate in Co. Cavan  and a cast iron gazebo, will come under the hammer over two online evening sales.

    Irish Georgian marble fire surround at Victor Mee. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    FOUR SALES OF IRISH ART ON VIEW IN DUBLIN NOW

    March 22nd, 2025
     Louis le Brocquy – The Tain, Massing of the Armies II at Gormley’s. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    From Walter Osborne to Andy Warhol, Louis le Brocquy to Paul Henry, the range of art on offer at four sales in Dublin next week is downright startling.  Even though nowadays Irish art is sold at auction all year round there are still selling seasons.
    Early spring is one of them. The four sales on March 24, 25 and 26 at Whyte’s, de Veres, Gormleys and Adams will keep collectors busy and engaged.  There is much to choose from across varying styles at all price points.
    In terms of expensive art the most significant sales are at Adams and Gormley’s. The top lot at each sale is a highly covetable tapestry by Louis le Brocquy. Cavanagh (€80,000-€120,000) at Adams next Wednesday evening used to hang at the Setanta Centre and featured here last week.  The Tain, Massing of the Armies II at Gormley’s online on Tuesday evening is smaller and estimated at €90,000-€120,000.  These artworks by one of Ireland’s leading and internationally renowned modern artists will reward a deep dive of exploration.
    The online sale at Gormley’s is on view at their new gallery premises on Francis St. in Dublin at the heart of the capital’s antiques quarter, previously Niall Mullen’s antique shop.  Key pieces include Walter Frederic Osborne’s A Corner Of An Old Almshouse, Bruges (€60,000 – €90,000), Colin Middleton’s Three Kings (€40,000 – €50,000), Percy French’s West of Ireland Bogland ( €3,500 – €4,500), Banksy’s Grannies (€13,000-€17,000) and a screenprint by Andy Warhol titled Committee 2000 (FS II.289) (€14,000-€18,000).
    A total of 145 lots will come under the hammer at the Adams sale of Important Irish Art.  Paul Henry, Mary Swanzy, Frank McKelvey, Tony O’Malley, Colin Middleton, Hilary Heron, George Russell, Gerard Dillon, Patrick Swift and John Shinnors feature among the leading artists on offer. The emphasis on the sale is on art from the 20th century and much of it is affordable.
    There is a good solid sale at de Veres timed online sale with bidding closing from 6 pm on Tuesday (March 25).  Leading lots – all with top estimates of €20,000 and under – include work by artists who are sought by collectors including Dan O’Neill, Norah McGuinness, le Brocquy, Hughie O’Donoghue, Basil Blackshaw, Sir William Orpen and Harry Kernoff.  The catalogue features 186 lots.
    The Spring online sale at Whyte’s, where the sale of Important Irish art on March 3 realised more than €1.2 million, is also brimful of interest and at a much  lower price point.  There are lithographs by William Scott, silhouettes by August Edouart, oils by Markey Robinson, a memory triggering painting of Collinstown Airport, Dublin in the 1940’s by Ivan Sutton among a selection of  265 lots in an estimate range of €80 to €5,000 at auction from 6 pm next Monday.

    PICTURED BELOW: Ivan Sutton – Collinstown Airport, Dublin 1940’s at Whytes. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,500 AT HAMMER

    William Crozier – Still Life at de Veres. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

    Gerard Dillon – Abstract by Night at Adams. UPDATE: THIS MADE 7,500 AT HAMMER

    OVER 50,000 INTERNATIONAL VISITORS AT TEFAF MAASTRICHT

    March 21st, 2025

    Vincent van Gogh – Still Life with Two Sacks and a Bottle

    TEFAF Maastricht 2025 has successfully concluded its 38th edition, reporting robust sales across all collecting categories and reaffirming its status as the world’s premier fair for art, antiques and design. Over 50,000 visitors, including international collectors, connoisseurs and institutions, converged on Maastricht to acquire the finest works spanning over 7,000 years of art history.

    Attendees included representatives from prestigious institutions including: The Art Institute of Chicago; Château de Chantilly; Cleveland Museum of Art; Fine Art Museums of San Francisco; Hong Kong Palace Museum; Louvre; Louvre Abu Dhabi; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Modern Art, Paris; New Museum, New York; Musée d’Orsay; National Gallery, London; National Gallery of Canada; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Suermondt Ludwig Museum; Rijksmuseum; Toledo Museum of Art; Van Gogh Museum, Zayed National Museum and many others. Among many sales the US firm of MS Rau antiques sold this van Gogh Still Life with Two Sacks and a Bottle to a private collector. The asking price was $4.75 million.

    WARHOL DRAWINGS FROM BLAU COLLECTION AT THE DOROTHEUM

    March 21st, 2025

    “Andy Warhol – The 1950s Drawings from Daniel Blau” at the Dorotheum in Vienna on March 27 offers an extraordinary selection of works on paper with moderate starting prices. The 221 drawings are executed in pencil or ink, sometimes accented with gouache or collaged with adhesive tape, with starting prices from €800 to €4,000.  Renowned Munich gallery owner Daniel Blau, son of painter Georg Baselitz, discovered the drawings in 2011 in Warhol’s personal estate at the Warhol Foundation Archive and acquired them. They have since been displayed in major touring exhibitions in Europe and the US.  Blau is now parting with his Munich gallery.  A second auction on March 28 features Daniel Blau’s collection of works on paper by George Grosz, Markus Lüpertz, Per Kirkeby, Neal Fox and others. After online bidding pre-bids lots will be auctioned in a virtual auction room at the Dorotheum, the largest auction house in central Europe.  Pictured here is Untitled (Angel Playing the Trumpet) a c1955 ink on paper.

    UPDATE: THIS MADE €9,888. ALL THE DRAWINGS FROM THE COLLECTION SOLD. An astounding 4,500 bids were submitted, sparking intense bidding duels in the virtual auction room, which lasted seven hours and continued late into the evening.

    ADAMS IMPORTANT IRISH ART SALE ON VIEW FROM TODAY

    March 21st, 2025

    Patrick Swift (1927-1983)  – Positano  UPDATE: THIS MADE 28,000 AT HAMMER

    Viewing for the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin on March 26 gets underway today. A total of 145 lots will come under the hammer including Positano by Patrick Swift, exhibited at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin in 1993. It is estimated at €8,000-€12,000. The auction offers a wide array of paintings, tapestries, sculpture and print by many of Ireland’s best loved artists.

    TIMED AUCTION BY DOLAN’S NOW LIVE ONLINE

    March 19th, 2025

    Mark O’Neill – Garden’s Rainbow. UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,700 AT HAMMER

    Art and whiskey combine to make Dolan’s Spring auction, now live online, a cause to celebrate for collectors of all things Irish. Artists featured include Mark O’Neill, Arthur Maderson, Peter Curling, Norman Teeling, Susan Cronin, George Gillespie, Robert Egginton and Moyra Barry. The sale features a selection of Very Rare Midleton Whiskeys and there is antique furniture and collectibles, including stamps and books. The timed online sale runs until March 24.

    A set of 10 Very Rare Midleton whiskeys. UPDATE: THESE MADE 4,600 AT HAMMER

    TIMED ONLINE AUCTION OF IRISH ART AT DE VERES

    March 18th, 2025

    DAN O’NEILL (1920-1974) – LANDSCAPE, TIRCONAILL. UPDATE: THIS MADE 15,000 AT HAMMER.

    Landscape Tirconaill by Dan O’Neill (€15,000-€20,000) leads the timed online Irish art auction by de Veres which runs until March 25.  Feeding Ground by Norah McGuinness is estimated at €14,000-€18,000.

    With around 180 lots on offer estimates range from €80 up. Among the top lots at this auction is work by Louis le Brocquy, Hughie O’Donoghue, Basil Blackshaw,  Harry Kernoff, Markey Robinson and William Crozier.

    Norah McGuinness (1901-1980) – Feeding Ground UPDATE: THIS MADE 14,000 AT HAMMER